1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to a process of making a laminate and laminate formed thereby. More particularly, the invention is directed to a process of making an abrasive laminate and laminate formed thereby.
2. Related Art
Various abrasive sanding blocks structures exist in the field of sanding. Typically, these structures come in two forms, one in which conventional sandpaper is connected to a support block or device or another in which a sponge material is spray coated with abrasive grit.
Sponges have met with some success in that users find them easy to work with and hold. However, sponges have poor surfaces to which abrasive grits can be applied. U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,609 discloses a flexible abrasive article for cleaning, polishing or smoothing which includes foam with grit adhesively bonded to the foam.
Sandpaper remains a more desirable product from a durability and performance standpoint, but they are not as user friendly. A few attempts have been made to marry the technologies. For example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/404,451 shows a laminated abrasive article. The laminate shows an abrasive sheet glued to a backing sheet having continuous closed cell foam. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/683,064 shows a wet sanding sponge which includes a sponge having sandpaper sewn thereon.
Still other sanders have employed other ways to hold the sandpaper on a sander. These sanders typically employ wire clips or other clamping mechanisms to retain the sandpaper. Other sanders use hook and loop technology between a support structure and sandpaper. For example, the art has glued one hook/loop member to a rigid support structure and another hook/loop member to the sandpaper. These hook/loop members typically fail at the connection to the rigid support surface rendering the device useless.
Despite the improvements in the field, there is a continuous need to improve the sandpaper holding techniques, reduce costs on such sanders to ease the sanding process. There remains a need to improve composite support structure for use in sanding. The present invention solves many of the problems associated with such sander making technology and hand sanders currently existing in the marketplace. Accordingly, the present invention improves upon the art.